Simple Remembrance
by Luna Silvereyes
Summary: Three lives, three events, one grand scheme. On the day a student whom no one has seen before transfers into Tsunade's class, it marks the start of an amazing friendship between three unlikely ninja. Through the trials and tribulations of life as Shinobi, through the joys and the sorrow that life brings, this strong, fragile bond will be put to the test as fate begins to intervene.
1. 1 The First Quiet Days

Simple Remembrance

Luna Silvereyes

A/N: It's been a long time since I sat down and started a chapter fanfiction, mostly because I'm all but retired from writing these things. My goal is to finish my current chapter stories, remove ones that have no chance at surviving, and continue to publish the occasional oneshot. Obviously, this is the exception, as I've had this planned for a while. I published a trilogy dedicated to the lives of the Sannin as they each reminisce in their own way, the days when life was simpler and when they still shared a bond that, as recent chapters seem to be showing, they clearly miss deep down. But I wanted to do one more addition to that series showing my take on how they met and interacted those first few years. Very little information on their backstories are available, so I'm taking what's already there and combining it with the dots I connected myself to form something of a cohesive narrative that's accurate as well. I hope you enjoy it, as this will probably be my last new chapter story while I work on finishing the others so I can officially retire.

This story is a means to explore the once close friendship these three had and how it might have evolved over the years. I know Jiraiya obviously has a crush on Tsunade, but I don't intend to explore any non-canon romantic pairings. Also, for a good portion of the story, they're all around the same age; Jiraiya and Orochimaru are both six and Tsunade is about five and a half, turning six before graduation. Yes, I'm aware this makes a plothole in my Reprieve story, but I'll fix it when I can. It's not a hard plothole.

**The First Quiet Days**

To say that the Leaf village was boring wouldn't be much of an exaggeration. Moments of excitement and terror were fleeting. Shinobi kept to their posts and missions throughout the village, the civilians acted as normally as humanly possible for living within one of the great hidden villages, and the youngsters behaved as youngsters always do.

"Dammit Jiraiya, get back here with that rice!"

"Aw c'mon, I gotta eat too!"

To the regular shopkeepers, the sight of the old rice shop man barreling after the spiky-haired idiot and the sagging bag of rice was fairly commonplace. They charged through, whipping up a brief and wispy dust cloud that settled quickly, once again returning life to normal along the sunny, dusty roads.

One of the civilians sighed, pausing in her sweeping to stare in apathy after them as they disappeared down the road; "Honestly, you'd think old Daikichi would give it up after a while," she said, scratching her head beneath the kerchief keeping the dust away. The older woman sitting beneath the bamboo awning, repairing a reed mat, chuckled, "Ah, I'm convinced he does it for fun these days," she chortled, "After all, Jiraiya usually snatches rice from the Komori shop a few roads down,"

The younger woman sighed, chuckling, "They probably started posting sentries. Daikichi may be old, but he's no pushover. He was quite a shinobi in his day," she said, smiling.

The old woman beamed, "As will Jiraiya be if he actually decides to focus on his studies, Tomoko,"

Tomoko snorted and covered her mouth, stifling a laugh, "You must be joking, grandma. That boy has too many screws loose to even hope to reach Daikichi's level,"

The old woman sighed, shaking her head, "Never judge someone so irresponsibly, Tomoko. What with that man you married, I'd think you'd know that better than anyone,"

Tomoko instantly petrified, her face reddening, "Koji's not _that_ crazy! The Inuzuka clan has a reputation, but they're very honorable!" she exclaimed.

"Yes, yes, wolves are quite honorable, but there's no changing the fact that they're wolves. The same can be said for that clan. I think you understand what I mean, correct?"

Tomoko whirled and stalked into the shop, "That's totally different from this!" she vented, slamming the door behind her. The old woman sighed and shook her head, "My, how the youth of today has changed. Next thing you know, our young Village Madness might decide to buckle down for once,"

She fell silent, resuming her repair work.

/ooo/

Jiraiya skidded to a halt around a corner, panting heavily as he slid to the ground with a groan, "Aw damn it, now what am I gonna eat?" he whined, "I was gonna pay him back tomorrow, I swear!"

He folded his arms with a hefty sigh, "Ah well. I still have some cans at home that'll do. Ugh," he cringed, making a face at the thought of canned food. It couldn't be helped though; Daikichi was faster than he'd thought. Jiraiya had been forced to dump the rice bag and take to the rooftops if he wanted to escape the wrath of the crippled old soldier's walking stick. And now, his stomach was reprimanding him for it, big time.

He heaved himself to his feet, feeling exhausted and achy from that intense run. He made a mental note to never steal from Daikichi Morino ever again. Or at least to never let him catch him at it.

"Aw who am I kidding? It's not like I want to steal the stuff; I'm just hungry and I left my money at home," Jiraiya grumbled.

He looked up at the sky; the endless, cloudless expanse was starting to get red as night began to set in. For as long as he could remember, a red sky had always symbolized some kind of calamity of despairing event for him. Now, he stared up blankly, feeling that weird tingling sense of foreboding settle over him, though for the life of him, he wasn't sure why. Besides, it was quickly overshadowed by the grumbling in his stomach.

He desperately fished through his pockets for any change or something, even enough to buy a snack bar at one of the stores. Something, anything!

He gasped and turned his pocket inside out to quickly reveal—two ryo. His face fell and he groaned, "Aw, that's not even enough for a seasoning packet,"

He shoved it back into his pocket and kicked a pebble, hating life.

Since he had no family, he'd become a ward of the village, his living expenses and tuition at the academy covered by the council, as was the case with all children who were either orphaned or living on their own. As such, he received a small weekly allowance of sorts to cover his necessities, such as food. However, he couldn't deny the voracity of his appetite at times and his money never lasted long as a result. On nights like this, when a whole day would pass without food, he paid for it.

He decided he'd just trudge back home and hope he found something decent in the cupboard.

He paused when he heard a faint chuckling from close by, turning abruptly, "Hey! Who's laughing back there! Taika, is that you?" he yelled, expecting his classroom rival to come bursting out of the shadows. However, he wasn't expecting to see this person jump down from one of the rooftops, hand in a pocket and watching him bemusedly. He stammered a bit in shock, "L-Lord Hokage,"

"In person, Jiraiya," Hiruzen Sarutobi said nonchalantly, "So, what are you doing skulking about the streets at this hour?"

Jiraiya looked down in irritation, mostly to himself, "Nothing, I was heading home,"

Sarutobi nodded, completely seeing through the kid's farce, "I see. So I must have imagined I heard someone complaining about being hungry,"

Jiraiya froze, looking on in disbelief as Sarutobi looked skyward, scratching his chin as if in deep thought, "Yes, you see, my wife made a couple of sandwiches for me today, but my old teammates invited me to go with them tonight so I wasn't sure what to do with these. I certainly can't just throw them away; that would be terribly wasteful," he said, holding up a boxed lunch in his other hand and smiling.

Jiraiya bristled and looked away, horribly torn. He knew that the somewhat dual-natured Hokage was offering him a free meal, but at the same time, he felt his stubborn pride shine through, preventing him from even looking in his direction.

"Why not just save them for later?" he said, confused as to why Sarutobi would even offer them to him. The Hokage shrugged and chuckled, "They only taste good on the day they're made. Besides, I happen to have overheard what you did earlier today, Jiraiya," he said, a touch of knowing mischief sneaking into his voice. Jiraiya cringed. Busted.

"T-That was—" he attempted to explain, but Sarutobi cut him off, walking over and plopping the box atop Jiraiya's head with a smile, "I'll tell you what," he said, "I know that you'd never stoop to outright stealing, right Jiraiya?"

"R-Right,"

"So, with the hope of both preventing any further impromptu rice races through the village, as well as extending your next weekly allowance, I'll give these to you on the promise that you try to be a little more conservative from now on, all right?"

Leaving the box balanced on Jiraiya's head, he stepped back, an amused grin on his face as he watched the kid's baffled expression shift with the confusion of the situation. He reached up to take the box off his head, holding it with a bit of a sour expression on his face, "I'm sorry, Lord Hokage. I swear I was gonna pay him back tomorrow, but I just...,"

Sarutobi scratched his head with a sigh and then reached forward to ruffle Jiraiya's spiky white hair, "It's okay," he said gently, "I understand, but if you want any hope of passing the class at the academy and being assigned to a team, you need to be a little more discreet. If you can't even steal a bag of rice properly, how do you expect to sneak into an enemy compound and steal a scroll, huh?" he said, laughing. He clapped Jiraiya on the back, "I'd better not catch you again,"

Jiraiya stared at him gape-jawed, unable to believe that not only was he not going to get into trouble for attempting to steal the rice, but that Sarutobi was advising him to become _better_ at it. Fortunately, Jiraiya caught onto his real meaning. Don't terrorize the villagers, but when necessary became necessary, don't be a complete idiot about it and alert the whole village.

Sarutobi turned suddenly, eyes narrowed as a blur of black landed catlike on the ground before them, straightening up and approaching soundlessly. Jiraiya stared wide-eyed as the Anbu agent approached and muttered something to the older man. Sarutobi frowned and then smiled and nodded, "Oh, so they've arrived. Very well, I'll head to the tower now. No doubt they'll go there first. Jiraiya, stay out of trouble, all right?"

"S-Sure," the kid stammered, watching as the Hokage and Anbu agent took off across the rooftops. It was fairly common knowledge that the Third Hokage liked to wander the village at his leisure, greeting the people and making idle conversation whenever he could, unlike the Second, whose reign Jiraiya barely recalled, and who often liked to keep to himself in order to prioritize his work for the betterment of the village. Glancing down at the sandwiches he held, he couldn't suppress a happy and relieved grin at the prospect of actually getting to eat soon.

_** /ooo/**_

The following day found most of the younger generation attending their classes at the academy. The day was overcast, creating a bit of a cold front which came as a welcome boon from the scorching heat the past few weeks.

Sitting a few rows up from the main floor, one girl yawned slightly, resting her head in her arms for a few precious moments before the teacher came in. She couldn't believe how tired she was. The previous day had been spent in Taijutsu training, her developing _forte_. But she hadn't taken the time to warm up or cool down before and after due to threats of rain, so now she felt it. She rubbed her sore shoulders and grimaced, "Ugh, what a way to start the day, Tsunade. Good job, I'm proud of ya," she grumbled to herself before plopping down again with a sigh.

She felt a tap on her back and turned, facing the younger girl with pigtails sitting behind her. She smiled, "Hey Tsunade, you okay?" she asked in a soft voice.

"Yeah, I'm fine Midori. I just overdid it on yesterday's training session," Tsunade said, grinning, "Give me an hour and I'll be good to go,"

Midori giggled, "You might get it. I heard a cool rumor this morning,"

Tsunade quirked an eyebrow, somewhat intrigued at the prospect of gossip, "Oh? What's that?" she asked, leaning back to hear her better. Midori leaned forward and whispered, "I heard that our class is taking in a new student. I overheard Sarutobi-_Sensei_ talking to Kaiyo-_Sensei_ about it this morning. He said, and I quote 'make sure to keep an eye on him for his first day,'"

Tsunade hummed, looking away, "This might be interesting. Are they planning to introduce him soon?"

"Probably today," Midori said, flipping her braids back over her shoulders. She glanced toward the door suddenly and shot back in her seat, facing forward blankly. Tsunade quickly did the same, as this signaled their teacher coming into the classroom.

The door slid open and Sarutobi stepped inside, moving aside to let someone through. The whole room fell silent as a young boy appeared, walking slowly behind the Hokage as they entered the room. Every set of eyes focused on him curiously, trying to get a better look at him. It wasn't often new students were moved into the class. On top of that, this kid was _new_. Tsunade instantly realized that she, like everyone here, had never seen him before, which was saying something. The Leaf Village was big but not _that_ big. Just about everyone knew everyone else. There were very few people who went so unnoticed that _someone_ wouldn't recognize who they were.

He was small, probably only about five or six. His hair was long and pitch black, covering part of his face as he walked with his head down. Tsunade couldn't see his face well, but she could see his hands clenched at his sides and was startled to see that they were an extremely stark white. Her first thought was 'albino', but the sight of his contrasting dark hair expelled that thought instantly. His clothes were odd, too. They consisted of a plain off white, almost lavender robe and sash. It gave him a bizarre ethereal look.

Sarutobi stopped in the center of the room and cleared his throat out of habit when speaking, "Class, today we have a new member joining us. This is Orochimaru,"

He gently nudged the boy forward, hoping he'd at least look at his new classmates. However, he kept his eyes firmly trained downward. Sarutobi looked up, "He's recently arrived from outside the boundaries of the village walls and will be living within the Leaf from now on. I'm sure you're all curious about this, but I ask that you respect his space and give him some time to adjust. With that in mind, please try to make him feel as welcome as possible, all right?"

Everyone responded 'yes _Sensei_' in unison. Sarutobi nodded in approval and scanned the classroom, eyes narrowed slightly, "Tsunade," he said.

She shot up, "Yes sir?"

"He's going to sit next to you for now. You have the highest marks, so please explain whatever he doesn't understand. I believe we're a bit farther ahead than he might be prepared for,"

She nodded, processing the details of her mission. She watched as Orochimaru slowly made his way up the steps and paused at the aisle to the long desk she sat at. For the first time, he raised his head enough that she caught a glimpse of his face. His face, like his hands, was a shocking white. She still couldn't see his eyes well. She stood up to let him pass to the seat beside the window. He moved past her without a word, not even glancing at her as he did. He pulled the chair out and sat down slowly, looking around almost blearily as if registering where he was. Tsunade sat back down and smiled, "Do you have any books yet?" she whispered, as Sarutobi had begun that day's lesson. However, instead of answering, Orochimaru seemed to shrink in on himself a bit, staring hard at his desk. Tsunade opened her book and slid herself and the book a little closer to him so she could see too, "Here, we can share my book until you get your own," she said in a hushed voice. She reached around for a bag and pulled out a sheet of paper and some pencils, "Here, for notes," she whispered, handing these to him. He took them mechanically and looked at them a moment before setting them down on the desk in front of him.

Tsunade started reading the current paragraphs talking about the importance of a three-person squad on the battlefield for beginning Genin versus the usual required four-person squad used by Chuunin and Jonin. However, she looked up momentarily to see that he was staring off into space toward the window. She frowned curiously; was he not interested or something? She turned to the next page and noticed slight movement to her left. Upon looking over at him, she saw that he'd returned his gaze to the book. He remained that way for a little under a minute and then turned away again. Tsunade's eyes bugged in amazement; he _was_ reading, and fast! Really fast! No wonder he was spacing out; he'd finished the whole two open pages in less than half the time it took her to finish!

With the approaching next paragraph, Tsunade turned the page and watched as his head came back around to continue reading. This time, she was able to see his face completely.

She felt her breath catch in...amazement? Alarm? Consternation? She wasn't sure what to call it, but she was most definitely startled. His eyes were a deep golden color and rimmed with purple markings that ran from his eyelids to the bridge of his nose, almost like a...a...

_Snake_

She felt a chill run down her spine at the thought, but quickly shook it away. She was being ridiculous for feeling afraid of that strange concept; he was just a kid and even smaller than she was. She mentally berated herself for acting stupid.

It seemed to her that morning classes lasted far longer than they should've, because when it was time for lunch, she found herself more than relieved to move away from her despondent desk mate.

"Hey, Tsunade!" Midori exclaimed, "Do you wanna eat lunch with us outside?"

Tsunade grinned, "Yeah! I'll meet you guys—"

However, she was interrupted- "Tsunade, can I see you for a moment please?"- by Sarutobi standing by his desk in the lower corner of the classroom. Tsunade frowned and bit her lip slightly before smiling apologetically at Midori, "Sorry, maybe some other time. Gotta talk to _Sensei_," she said.

Midori groaned in dismay and sighed, "Okay. See you after lunch, Tsunade," she said, turning to join another group of girls headed outside. Tsunade cast one quick glance at Orochimaru who hadn't moved an inch from his spot. He was still reading the textbook, flipping pages farther into it than they'd covered yet. Maybe he was just bored.

She sprinted down the steps and skidded to a halt at Sarutobi's desk. He stood up, "Follow me a moment,"

Watching him curiously, Tsunade trailed after him, wondering if she'd done something wrong. Maybe he'd overheard her talking during class as she explained the book to Orochimaru, or maybe he'd noticed she hadn't actually been following the lesson that day.

He led her out into the hallway and next door to an empty classroom. He opened the door and bade her inside, shutting it behind them and sitting down at one of the desks with a sigh, "Take a seat, Tsunade," he said, "I have something to tell you,"

She did as instructed, sitting down across from him with her hands folded in her lap, watching him expectantly. He sighed, scratching his head in a stalling way, as if wondering where to begin.

"Tsunade, about the new student," he began quietly, "I'm sure you're wondering why I placed him with you,"

"I was wondering about that, but it's your decision," Tsunade said flatly.

"That's true, but you have every right to refuse, especially with what I'm about to tell you," he said almost wearily, "First off, there are a few things you should know about him. I'm sure you've noticed he's very quiet,"

That went without saying; Orochimaru hadn't so much as coughed the entire morning. Tsunade wondered if he was even breathing half the time. Sarutobi continued, "I mentioned that he came from outside the village. This is true, and this is also why you've never seen him, as he only arrived late last night with a group of Anbu Black Ops. I was aware that this would make the others curious about a student they've never seen before,"

"Why _is_ he here?" she asked.

"That...that's the tricky part, Tsunade. I want you to promise that whatever is said does not leave this room. It's his business if he ever wishes to discuss it, but this stays between us, all right?" he said sternly. Tsunade nodded firmly; gossip was one thing, but this was private business. She almost felt honored that Sarutobi was deciding to trust her with this, whatever it was. He sighed, "About a week ago, Orochimaru's parents were both brutally murdered in their home," he said grimly, gazing off toward the window. Tsunade felt the blood drain from her face as she comprehended his words, "M-Murdered?" she repeated, horrified.

"Yes. They were found by wandering Mist shinobi when the door to the home was discovered broken in. He was found hiding in a small compartment inside one of the closets, but it's entirely likely he witnessed, or at least heard the entire thing occur,"

"But," Tsunade exclaimed, her eyes wide, "But why were they murdered?"

Sarutobi eyed her thoughtfully, blinking slowly, "I don't want to burden you with complicated political affairs, Tsunade. However, with what I intend to ask you, it's necessary that you know. Orochimaru's father was a very high ranking shinobi official in the Mist Village, assistant to the Mizukage himself, while his mother was of Leaf origin and lived outside the Mist village with Orochimaru. It was likely a political scrape that got out of hand. He was sent here and his parents have been given a proper burial here both to protect any secrets they might have carried and to lessen the burden on their son by allowing him to visit their grave. Mist shinobi rebels won't risk breaking into the Leaf and igniting a war simply for unearthing two corpses. The stakes are too high,"

He sighed, "As a result of all of this, Orochimaru is deep in shock, Tsunade, and likely to remain this way for a long time. Since you're so outgoing, I thought putting him with you would help to bring him out a little bit. Despite your age, you're intelligent enough to understand the weight of the situation and why it must be kept secret until further notice. Just remember, treat him like you would anyone else; don't let him know that I told you all of this. It's too soon for him to know; any further stress could cause his mind to shut down completely. If that were to happen, there likely wouldn't be any way to save him. All I ask is that you just be there for him, can you do that?"

Tsunade, floored by all of this shocking information, found herself nodding as her throat went dry. She swallowed painfully and stood up, bowing respectfully, "I-I'll do my best, _Sensei,_" she declared.

"Good. Now, go on back in there. From what I was told by the Anbu, he hasn't eaten in over a day. See if you can get him to try something,"

Tsunade hurried back into the classroom and looked up toward her desk. To her dismay, she saw a small group of curious young shinobi surrounding the new student, flooding him with questions.

"So where'd you come from anyway? Are your parents famous ninja or something?"

"Do you have any favorite Jutsu? Can you do any yet?"

"Woah! You were reading _way_ ahead in the textbook! Do you already know all this stuff? Where'd you learn it?"

Tsunade sighed, shaking her head. You could hardly blame them; it wasn't often new students were admitted to the academy so late in the year. However, she could see that Orochimaru looked quite uncomfortable with the sudden attention. He was hunched over slightly, looking back and forth somewhat fearfully at each student asking him questions. His mouth was open slightly, as if he were debating on whether or not to speak and couldn't think of anything to say. Tsunade could see he was getting upset. She sighed and trudged up the stairs, taking a deep breath, "Hey!" she yelled, "Come on you guys, back off and give him some space! Jeez!" she exclaimed, startling the group into scattering as she approached. She was glad to see at least one lingering student had stayed at his desk, hand bracing the side of his face as he dozed upright. He made a noise of disgust and looked over, "It doesn't take much to keep these goofballs occupied, does it?" he muttered.

"You're one to talk, Shinji Nara," Tsunade snapped, "You could've at least stepped in while I was gone,"

The lanky kid glanced over at her, "No way. It's too much of a hassle. Besides, the kid's gotta get a backbone or he'll never make it as a shinobi,"

"Jerk," Tsunade grumbled, turning to Orochimaru. To her surprise, he let out a soft sigh of what could have been relief that they'd all left him alone. She smiled and sat down beside him, trying not to let Sarutobi's words affect her. That's right; she was to treat him like anyone else. Don't pity him for his tremendous loss, don't be awkward for his silence, and just act normal. That was simple enough. Sure, she knew something absolutely horrible about him, including the reasoning for what happened which even he didn't know yet, but Sarutobi had given her her first mission; just help him. She could do that.

She reached to her bag and pulled out the lunch her mother had prepared that morning. She glanced over at him, "We still have another half-hour. Did you bring anything?"

He bowed his head a bit lower. The only sign that he'd shaken his head 'no' was his hair waving a fraction of an inch. Tsunade frowned and then smiled, "Okay, you can have some of mine. Mom does this all the time; I don't eat much, so she makes enough for both lunch today and tomorrow. Are you hungry?"

His head raised very slightly, enough for her to catch a brief glimpse of his face. He nodded once, but barely.

"Well okay, then," she said brightly, pulling the lid off and handing him a pair of chopsticks, "Go ahead and try something. Mom's great at cooking. I suck at it," she joked, knocking herself lightly on the forehead, "She said she'll teach me when I turn sixteen. Man, that's eleven years from now," she groaned.

She watched as he stared at the chopsticks sitting on the desk. He slowly reached up to take them, holding them a moment before trying to break them from the top. Tsunade raised an eyebrow at this, "Uh, that isn't how you break them properly," she said, holding up her own pair and pulling from the bottom. They snapped easily, "See? They come apart really easy this way. Try it,"

He watched her blankly, blinking once and then returning his gaze to the chopsticks. He shifted them so he held them from the thin ends, pulling delicately. They snapped apart easily.

"Good, you got it!" Tsunade said, "Go ahead and eat something. You're new here so you get first pick,"

He arranged them clumsily at first. He looked at the box and then at Tsunade.

"Go ahead," she encouraged.

But to her surprise, he reached up and pushed the box back closer to her. She blinked a few times in surprise, but shook her head, "No, seriously, you can choose first. It's okay, there's plenty,"

He actually looked up and stared at her directly. She felt a cold chill rush down her spine at those eyes. It took a lot of willpower to force back the cringe of fear. Something about those eyes was incredibly chilling and unnatural. She couldn't place it exactly. However, as he looked away, it dawned on her what was weird about them.

Not only were they gold, but the pupils weren't round like in normal eyes. They were almost slitted, exactly like a reptile's.

_Weird,_ she thought in bewilderment, _I wonder if he's got some special ability like the Uchihas or something. God, I hope not. Those guys creep me out big time..._

Movement on his part snapped her out of the reverie she was in. He'd finally reached up to take a piece of fried egg from the box, holding it with the chopsticks and just staring at it. Tsunade mustered up a grin, "Egg huh?" she said as she took a piece of her favorite grilled chicken from the box, "Mom's really good at preparing them. I think she knows at least twenty ways. It's insane,"

She watched with baited breath as he finally took a small bite of the egg, his expression as blank as ever. He waited a moment and continued to nibble on it, not saying a word. Tsunade sighed inwardly. At least he was eating. That was a start.

"So what's your favorite food, anyway?" she asked as he finally finished the piece of egg. She wanted to laugh when she saw him look briefly at another piece inside the box before looking elsewhere.

"Go ahead and take another one," she said, "Seriously, if you'd like another piece, then take one. It's fine,"

He did so, albeit almost reluctantly. She smirked in amusement; _Guess that answers my question,_ she thought.

Lunch was finished in a half silence. Tsunade continued to tell him about the village, even showing him a map of the general area used by traveling merchants. She circled important places in red marker and explained what each one was, as well as how to get to each place.

"You know, this village looks small, but it's actually really big," she said, "You can see that when you climb up the Hokage monument. Oh, hey, there's an idea! Lets' go there after school! I'll take you up the monument and you can get a bird's eye view of the whole village! How does that sound?" she asked excitedly.

Orochimaru didn't answer, not that she expected him to by this point. But he nodded very faintly, not looking at her. She handed him the map and he slowly reached out to take it, pulling it close to examine it.

"Don't worry; I know it looks like a lot, but you'll get the hang of it in no time,"

The door slid open again as the students began filing back in from outside. She quickly took the map from him and folded it up, "I'll hold onto it for you, okay?" she said quietly.

As the students took their seats, Tsunade noticed Midori hurry in last and rush up the steps toward her desk. She practically threw her bag down as she took her seat and leaned forward toward Tsunade, "So is that him?" she asked excitedly.

"Yeah," Tsunade whispered, "I'll introduce you two after class, okay?"

Midori rolled her eyes, "Dang, you never stop thinking about school, Tsunade," she joked. Tsunade scoffed, "Hey, I have to set a good example. You get the picture," she said, grinning.

Sarutobi came back into the classroom and cleared his throat, "Now then class, as you all know, the Genin exam is in just two weeks. You'll all be expected to know at least two simple Jutsu and perform them before myself and the other teachers here at the academy. No one is absolutely required to take it, and anyone may attempt if they wish to graduate and be placed in a team,"

"Lord Hokage," Midori said, raising her hand, "Does it matter what Jutsu we use?"

"Yes. This year, you'll be required to do either a basic Henge Jutsu or a cloning Jutsu of some variety. With the clone, you must create an exact duplicate of yourself using material you're comfortable with, such as water or earth. The Henge Jutsu requires you to take on the form of another person and hold that form for two minutes without faltering,"

"And anyone can take it!?" someone yelled from the back. Sarutobi sighed, "Yes, anyone may take it. And raise your hand next time, Kuma," he said in exasperation. He turned around, "For those of you feeling confident in your new found abilities as impending Genin, I have a sign up sheet here on my desk. Please write your name down clearly and we'll add you to the roster,"

He moved to the blackboard, "Now, lets' get back to the lesson, shall we? We were discussing the usage of Fuinjutsu and its connection to the former Land of Whirlpools. Can anyone tell me why this Hidden Shinobi Village was destroyed?"

Tsunade raised her hand first. Sarutobi nodded for her to continue as she stood up, "Yes sir. The Land of Whirlpools was renowned for its ninja who specialized in the art of Fuinjutsu, or sealing techniques. The rest of the world feared their abilities and brought about their destruction, causing the survivors to scatter,"

She sat back down. Sarutobi smiled, "Very good. Now then, as a way of welcoming our new classmate, here's a question for him. Orochimaru, can you tell me what the symbol was for the village. It's a fairly common symbol,"

Tsunade glanced at Orochimaru who didn't move for several seconds. Then, to her surprise, he took the sheet of paper she'd given him earlier and looked around for a pencil. She quickly handed him hers. He drew a spiral shaped symbol on the blank paper, followed by a small set of characters underneath it. He sat back and put the pencil down, suddenly looking uncomfortable again. Tsunade realized what was wrong and stood up, "_Sensei_, if I may, I'll read his answer to you," she said, taking the paper, "He drew a spiral that looks like a whirlpool, along with the word 'Uzushiogakure' beneath it," she said.

"Ah, so he also knows the ancient name of the village. Very good. Yes, that's correct," Sarutobi replied, drawing another spiral symbol on the blackboard, "Many people know this common symbol of a spiral, also called '_Uzumaki_'. This was the symbol for this former hidden village before it was destroyed. Not many people can recall its original name, though, so keep in mind what was answered, all right class? It may be on the written exams,"

This was met by a groan of dismay all around. Tsunade giggled and looked at Orochimaru, still sitting perfectly still and not really looking at the front. The surface of the desk appeared very interesting. She had to admit, that was impressive. He couldn't have been that much older than she was, so to know that kind of information and submit it without request to was surprising. But then again, he was clearly the quiet type; those kids tended to be smarter than appearances tended to give. Something told her that hanging out with him was going to be interesting.

/ooo/

"Wow, I didn't expect him to be that smart," Midori said in amazement once class had ended. She and Tsunade glanced at Orochimaru, still flipping through the textbook. He was nearly at the end of it. Midori shook her head, "I also didn't expect him to be such a bookworm," she stated.

"You're one to talk, Midori," Tsunade grumbled, "At least he _uses_ his brain,"

"Hey, what are ya gonna do?" Midori muttered with a shrug, "I don't even wanna _be_ a shinobi. I'm here 'cause dad was some kinda famous shinobi or something. Once I graduate, I'm gonna open my own business,"

Tsunade quirked an eyebrow, "Oh yeah? What kind of business?"

"I'd like to own a dumpling shop," she replied, grinning.

Tsunade nodded, feigning interest, "Well, have fun with that," she said. She turned to her new desk mate, "Orochimaru, class is over. Are you coming?"

He looked up, regarding her silently a moment. Then he closed the textbook and pushed his chair back, standing up slowly and handing the book back to her. She blinked and looked down at it, but smiled and shook her head, "Nah, you can hold onto it until you get your own. I know most of what's in there already; it's just basic Genin stuff. Most of what's left to learn will be taught out in the field,"

He hesitated, and then slowly shifted the book to one arm at his side, watching her expectantly. For the first time since lunch, he looked up completely, revealing his face.

Here, Midori froze up with a squeak, "W-What the?" she exclaimed.

"What?" Tsunade asked, quirking an eyebrow at her somewhat ditzy friend. Midori raised a shaking hand, "H-He looks like a snake!" she exclaimed.

Tsunade scowled and smacked her hand down, "Knock it off, that's rude. Look, I'm taking him up to the monument. Do you want to join us?"

The smaller girl shook her head rapidly, unable to tear her eyes away from the new student.

"Oh for...come on, Orochimaru," Tsunade grumbled, grabbing his other hand and dragging him along behind her. He stumbled a bit before falling in step alongside her, staring at the ground blankly. He glanced back at Midori, still staring at him fearfully.

His eyes narrowed to slits before turning and facing forward again.

"Don't worry so much about her," Tsunade told him, "She's a ditz, but she's really nice. She'll get used to you before too long, I'm sure,"

One of the pathways leading up to the monument was located alongside the back end of the academy property on the other side of a small fence. The two kids made their way over to the gate and Tsunade lifted up the locking bar, causing the gate to swing open, "The Hokage tower is up there, too. I'm sure Lord Hokage is probably on his way there already, if not already up there,"

She looked back at him to see a somewhat confused look on his face. She smiled, "Lord Hokage is actually our _Sensei_, Hiruzen Sarutobi," she explained, "He refused to give up teaching, even after he was chosen by my uncle to be the next Hokage,"

Orochimaru blinked and tilted his head slightly. Tsunade chuckled, "Guess I forgot to tell you. My great-uncle and my grandfather were the second and first Hokage, respectively," she said, "You can see it from here; the faces of previous Hokage are carved into the granite cliffs high above us," she said, pointing, "See? The one on the far left is my grandfather, Hashirama Senju. The one in the middle is my great-uncle, Tobirama Senju, and the one on the far right is Hiruzen Sarutobi, our _Sensei_. The thing is, that granite wall doesn't completely encircle the village, so I'm not sure what will happen for the fourteenth of fifteenth Hokage," she joked, grabbing Orochimaru's arm and hurrying up the trail, "Anyway, the tower is all the way at the top and so is the best view in the whole village! You're gonna love it!"

He followed blindly after her, not saying a word about the steepness of the path or the fact that she was pulling his arm a little too hard. He kept quiet, watching the trail for any rocks or jutting pieces of earth to avoid tripping over. However, when you weren't in control of your own movements along such an erratic pathway, things didn't always go as planned. He couldn't avoid a large rock in time and Tsunade was made aware of the sudden lack of weight on her hand when she heard the thud. She gasped and whirled to see him picking himself up off the ground, grunting slightly in shock at the collision and mild pain from the fall. She dashed back, "Oh my god! Orochimaru, are you okay? I am _so_ sorry! Are you all right?" she exclaimed, reaching toward him. He sat up and sighed, his gaze trained on the ground. He looked up at her, his expression somewhat distant, but not angry or hurt. She exhaled the breath she'd been holding in relief, "I'm really sorry," she said, "Guess I got a little carried away. Are you hurt?"

She looked him over. He was a bit dusty, but otherwise, he appeared fine. She reached out and brushed the dirt off his shoulder, "I'm sorry about that," she said, smiling sheepishly, "You know what's funny? Grandfather used to drag me up here the same way because _he_ was always excited to show _me_ the view. I can't tell you how many times I fell under the same circumstances. Then he'd spend about ten minutes in a total panic, thinking I'd been critically hurt. You'd think I'd learn to be more careful," she laughed. She sighed and looked back at him, "You okay?" she asked one more time. He lowered his head slightly, nodding twice. Tsunade smiled, "Well, all right then. Do you want to keep going?"

Hesitation...he nodded once more. She stood up, watching as he got to his feet slowly. She put her hands on her hips, "You know what, maybe we shouldn't run up this trail. Could be dangerous,"

To her surprise, he nodded again, only this time it was a firmer and more resolute gesture, as if he were wholeheartedly agreeing with her. It was interesting, she thought as they continued up the steep trail, the more time she spent with him, the better she was becoming at reading him, even though he had yet to say a word to her. So far, this was pretty simple. He wasn't talkative by any stretch, but he wasn't unpleasant to be around. In fact, she was enjoying being around someone who wasn't a total smart alec for a change. Sure, she was doing most of the talking, but he was still communicating. Maybe he wasn't as deep in shock as Sarutobi had told her. Maybe she _could_ bring him around.

At this time of day, the sun was beginning its descent to the west, bathing the valley and forest in a harsh orange blanket. Shadows were growing long, signaling the approaching night.

Tsunade heaved a sigh when they finally reached the top and stretched, "Ah, finally made it," she said, turning to Orochimaru. He came up alongside her, gazing out over the horizon. She gave him a gentle push toward the railings over the edge of the monument, "This is the plateau where the Hokage Tower is," she told him, "And this is that view I told you about. You can even see over the walls from here,"

She glanced over at him briefly. For the first time, mild amazement could be seen on his face, accentuated with the light breeze blowing his hair from his eyes. Tsunade once again caught sight of his unusual eyes, standing out even more with the added orange glow from the dying sun mixing with the natural gold. The result was an almost flame-like illusion.

"This is the highest point in the village," she explained, "That's why the tower was built up here. The Hokage watches over the whole village you know. It's an important job and my grandfather and uncle took it very seriously,"

Orochimaru didn't answer, no surprise. He was staring out over the horizon to the north. Tsunade realized that his original home was in the north. She recalled what Sarutobi had told her about his father being assistant to the Mizukage. She wondered how much about the political world Orochimaru was aware of.

"You arrived late last night, didn't you?" she ventured cautiously.

He bowed his head slightly. He nodded once.

"I see. I know it's kinda scary right now, but do you like this village at all?"

He flinched a bit and looked away without doing anything. Tsunade didn't really expect much else from him. After all, he was brand new to the village. He probably didn't know what to think yet. No doubt he was terrified and hiding it with silence. Really, she was grateful he even answered her inquiries, wordless though his answers were. Hoping to make him feel more comfortable around her, she decided to take a calculated risk.

"Sarutobi _Sensei_ told me you're from the Mist village. He didn't tell me why you came here, though," she lied, "I've heard that the fog there never lifts, even on warm days, that condensation from the sea keeps it shrouded in perpetual mist,"

She looked out toward the horizon, enjoying the breeze that ruffled through her hair, "But I've also heard that it's a beautiful part of the country, surrounded by water and nature. I'm jealous; wish I could go there," she said wistfully.

A glance toward him revealed his expression contorting slightly, though to one of pain or confusion, she couldn't tell. She wisely changed the subject, "You know, right now starts the rainy season here, which means it's gonna get hot. Mom always makes me cut my hair around this time of year, but grandfather taught me a special Jutsu to grow it back, so she always gets so annoyed!" she exclaimed, giggling. She snapped her fingers, "Hey, maybe you can get yours cut too," she suggested.

To her amazement, he reached around, grabbed the ends of his hair and pulled them over his shoulder, cringing away from her with his head bowed and faced the other way.

Well, she certainly hadn't expected _that_ reaction. She blinked rapidly and coughed dryly, "I was joking, I was joking," she assured him, "There's nothing wrong with liking it a little long for yourself. I mean look at Nagi Hyuuga; his is all the way past his waist for crying out loud," she said amiably. She stepped forward and put her hand on his head, ruffling his hair lightly, "Wow, it's soft. Darn it, I think your hair is even nicer than mine. That is so not fair," she grumbled playfully. He hesitantly returned his gaze to her, eying her questioningly. She shrugged and sighed, "Stop worrying; I'm not gonna make you do anything you aren't comfortable with, okay? You know, for someone hailing from the Mist Village, you're awfully timid," she said, hands on her hips and quirking an eyebrow.

He sighed and looked down at the ground briefly before returning his focus to the expansive village before them. By now, the sun had reached the far point of its journey across the sky, perched precariously atop one of the jagged mountaintops in the distance. Tsunade shielded her eyes and hummed, "We'd better head back down, now. I'll take you home. Where are you staying?" she asked him.

"Actually, that's an easier question to answer than you'd think,"

Tsunade jumped a mile as Sarutobi suddenly materialized in front of them, hands in his pockets. She stammered slightly and struggled to recompose herself, "Lord Hokage," she exclaimed, "Where did you come from?"

"Actually, I was watching you two from one of the windows and overheard your conversation," he said quietly.

"Oh, I see," Tsunade replied, "Yeah, I was going to take him home since it's getting late, but I don't know where he lives now," she said, placing her hand on Orochimaru's shoulder. He was staring up at the Hokage, an almost inquisitive look on his usually blank face.

"Given the fact that he's soon to become a shinobi, we've arranged for an apartment he can live in for now," Sarutobi answered, "It's close to the academy and the center of town, so it'll be easier for him to find his way around. Since you're right; it's getting late, why don't you accompany us?" he asked.

"Sure," Tsunade answered. Sarutobi smiled at both of them, "Excellent," he said, glancing over at Orochimaru. However, to the intense shock of both of them, Orochimaru made a short humming sound and moved behind Tsunade, partially out of view of Sarutobi. The Hokage blinked in surprise and then chuckled, "Well well, it seems he's already become attached to you, Tsunade. Good work,"

Tsunade sighed heavily, "No, it's not 'good work', _Sensei_. Orochimaru, stop hiding! He's our _Sensei!_ Show some respect!" she admonished firmly.

"It's all right, Tsunade," Sarutobi assured her gently, "He'll get used to me in time. The important thing is that he's used to you. It says a lot about your nature,"

Tsunade made a noise of discontent, but realized he was right. After all, the kid was at least mildly in shock and probably scared to death. After having spent most of the whole day with him, she was surprised he'd warmed up to her that much in so short amount of time.

"Well, lead on, _Sensei_," she said with a shrug.

/ooo/

The apartment Sarutobi had spoken of was located three floors up in a somewhat older building a few streets from the academy. It was relatively tiny, but for someone as small as the new kid, it was actually overkill. They stood in the breezeway of the first room, surveying the surroundings. Sarutobi moved inside first, scanning the surroundings, "It's well ventilated and you can see the academy from here," he said, "He shouldn't have any trouble finding his way around. Biwako came by earlier with some supplies and a bed pallet for him, so it should work for a while,"

He stepped back against the wall and turned the light on. The room was filled with calming light, banishing the creeping darkness from the window. Tsunade watched as Orochimaru wandered slowly through the place, inspecting everything. He meandered in a small circle through the tiny apartment, his face blank. But she could tell from his slightly hunched posture that he was still a bit scared. Not that she blamed him.

"Now then," Sarutobi said, "I'm needed briefly for a meeting at the tower, but I'll be back shortly to check on you one more time. Tsunade, what are you going to do?" he asked.

"I'll stay with him a bit longer," she said.

"Won't your mother worry?"

"She always worries. I'll just tell her I was out with a friend and lost track of time,"

Inwardly, Sarutobi made a face of awkward amusement. It really was bizarre how so much like Hashirama she was in terms of occasionally ducking responsibility and not worrying what others thought. He sighed, "Very well. I'll be back in a couple of hours," he said, heading out the door. He closed it behind him and Tsunade glanced over at Orochimaru, staring out the window toward the center of town. She sighed and poked around the cupboards a moment, "I think I'll make us a snack," she said, "I can't make much of anything, but lets' see...darn it, not much in here...oh!" she exclaimed, finding a box. She grimaced, "Oh...crackers,"

She jumped when she felt him come up behind her, "What!?" she yelled in alarm. He was looking at the box in her hand. She followed his gaze, "Uh...you like these? They're rice crackers, not very tasty, I'm afraid,"

Never mind the fact that he'd managed to sneak up on her, but that he apparently hadn't even known he'd done it. She'd figure that one out later.

"Hey, I have an idea," she said. She hurried into the next room, hunting around for the stuff Sarutobi had said his wife had brought over. She found a couple of sheets, the bedroll and a big blanket and dragged them back into the front room. He watched as she dragged a few chairs away from the little counter and into the center of the room, setting them up in a four corner formation. Then she motioned him over, "Here, take this," she said, handing him a corner of the sheet. He took it, watching her curiously. She grinned at him and then flipped the sheet up into the air, the momentum forcing him to copy her actions. His eyes went wide as the sheet went sailing over the tops of the chairs, floating down to rest across them and draping down the sides. Tsunade grabbed the other sheet and hurried around to the other side, tossing it over that edge too and covering the open back. This left a decent entryway at the front. She grabbed the bedroll and blanket and dragged them into the newly constructed tent, setting them up inside. She crawled out and beamed, "Ta-da! Check it out, my friends and I do this whenever we have sleepovers," she said, "It's a ton of fun. We sit up and tell funny stories and ghost stories and use a lamp to make goofy shapes on the walls, and stuff,"

She crawled into the tent and sat down, "Come on," she called, "If it falls down we'll just put it up again,"

Very hesitant, he knelt down, placing the cracker box inside the tent and crawling carefully beneath the roof of it to sit opposite Tsunade. He continued to look around nervously before appearing to settle down. Tsunade watched as he quite literally relaxed for the first time in the entire day.

"It's kinda calming, isn't it?" she said, "I don't know why, but being inside a tent feels really safe. It's different than being in a house,"

She gasped suddenly, "Hold on,"

She scrambled out of the tent and into the next room; _"I know I saw one here a second ago—aha!_"

Her footsteps echoed through the small space as she reappeared carrying an oil lantern. She shook it lightly, discovering there was already some oil in it. Then she flipped the switch on the wall, flooding the room with darkness once again. She crawled back inside the tent and set the lamp down on the floor outside the tent flap. Then she switched it on, filling the room with a soft golden light. She smiled and turned to him, "There, see? It's like a mission we're on,"

He tilted his head slightly, confused. She scooted over to sit beside him and grabbed his arm, pointing to the other side of the tent, "Our mission is to find as many weird things as we can and bring back proof! There, look! A giant spider!"

She twisted her hands into the shape of a spider on the tent's opposite wall, shadows cast by the flickering lantern light. She moved her hands so the 'spider' moved up the wall toward them, "It's gonna get us!" she cried, "Quick! Evasive action!"

She ducked to one side and Orochimaru moved to the other. In truth, she didn't really expect him to do much in response, but when one of the rice crackers went sailing up to hit the 'spider' directly, Tsunade jumped, not expecting it. She looked over at him in amazement. He was holding another one, looking like he was preparing to fire it at the supposed target. The look on his face seemed a bit mixed; he didn't seem to be sure whether or not he'd actually participated in the game, but he seemed up to continuing. Tsunade smirked, "Nice shot with the shuriken!" she exclaimed, "Keep those handy! You never know when we'll need 'em on a mission like this, Orochimaru!"

She tried not to stare when he actually smiled a little bit and nodded a couple of times, fishing a couple more crackers out and holding them just like one would hold a shuriken, four to one hand. This was surprising; clearly he'd had some experience with real weapons already.

Now really hyped, Tsunade formed another shape on the tent, this time of a big bird with enormous head feathers, "A giant bird! This one's big! It's coming this way! Heads up!" she cried, diving toward him as the 'bird' prepared to dive bomb them. Orochimaru hurled another couple of 'shuriken' at the bird and Tsunade tore her hands apart with a _fwoosh_ sound, "You scared him off!"

This went on for a while, Tsunade forming random deadly shadow 'enemies' on the wall and crackers flying from one or both of them in retaliation. It finally ended when they ran out of crackers to throw. The two of them went around the tent picking up as many crackers as they could find and pouring them back into the box. Now, with the light from the lantern the only light source in the room, they sat quietly munching on the crackers and staring at the lantern.

"You know Orochimaru," she said, finishing off her cracker and reaching for another one, "You've actually got really good aim. Who taught you how to throw like that?"

He was nibbling on a cracker and didn't appear to really hear what she said. He looked up with a muffled 'hm' noise. Then he looked away, eyes downcast. Tsunade regretted asking; obviously one of his family members, likely his father, had shown him how to throw shuriken. She sighed, looking toward the door, "_Sensei_ still isn't back yet. And it really _is_ getting late," she mumbled. She knew her mother was already mad, but she didn't want to make her worry if she could help it. Especially not right now. There was enough excitement going on as it was.

Tsunade sighed, "I should really get going," she said, "Mom's probably up the wall by this point,"

She was about to stand up when she felt a slight pressure on her arm. She looked back to see he'd actually reached out to delicately take hold of her sleeve, gaze fixed on the ground. At first, she didn't see it, but in the flickering lantern light, she caught sight of it as he twitched slightly. She turned around a bit and saw that he was actually shaking. Hi head was bowed so she couldn't see his face.

"Orochimaru?" she questioned softly, "Are you okay?"

He simply shrunk in on himself again, his light hold on her sleeve tightening slightly. He ever-so-slowly shook his head.

He was scared, yes. But the true ferocity of his terror hit her then. Here he was, recently orphaned in the most horrible of ways, uprooted and moved hundreds of miles to a strange, unknown village, surrounded by strangers and placed in a dark and scary building by himself, all at the fragile age of six. Tsunade may have been younger than he was, but she'd inherited her grandfather's excellent skills of observation, coupled with a good mind. She was proud of this and she knew why her classmate was scared. She knew she would be too if placed in his situation. It was a wonder he was still relatively sane after all of this. At least she hoped so.

She shifted backward slightly, pulling the blanket up with her and crawling over it. She laid down on her stomach and patted the space next to her, indicating he do the same. He did so slowly, folding his hands under his chin as she pulled the blanket up over both of them until it was all but covering their heads. She rested her head on one arm and reached to take his hand with hers. She could still feel him shaking viciously and she smiled warmly, "I'll stay until _Sensei_ gets here, and who knows how long that'll take," she rolled her eyes to this. He let out a choked sound that might have a brief giggle, but was taken over by a barely hidden terrified breath.

She closed her eyes with a sigh, feeling herself close to dozing off. Half asleep, she barely felt him snuggle against her, seemingly also near falling asleep. It was strange, she thought vaguely, that someone with such cold eyes could be so warm.

/ooo/

Sarutobi knew he'd made the right decision to alert Tsunade's mother that she was staying with a friend from school before heading to the tower. He knew this the minute he walked in and smelled the distinct scent of an oil wick soaked in used fuel from being left to its own devices for an extended amount of time and not being shut off. He moved further inside and caught sight of a giant, shapeless object in the center of the room. Upon further inspection, he discovered it to be a large tent made of sheets and chairs from the kitchen counter. He knelt down a few feet away from it and sighed.

He smiled, "Well would you look at that," he whispered.

They were completely asleep, snuggled up under the thick blanket. He noted with surprise that even asleep, both of their hands were intertwined. He chuckled fondly and straightened up, moving away silently. It was still several hours until dawn, but as he left as quietly as he'd arrived, he told himself he'd be back long before they woke up.


	2. 2 The Village Madness

**The Village Madness**

It had been four days.

Sarutobi had noted with mild amusement that in the time since he'd arrived, Orochimaru and Tsunade had become inseparable friends. Wherever she went, he wasn't far behind. Even though he still hadn't said a word in the entire time he'd been in the village, Sarutobi was already beginning to notice a huge difference in Orochimaru's behavior. For instance, on the third day, he walked into the classroom during lunch period and found the two of them staring at a very strange food item Tsunade's mother had packed. He recognized it instantly as a sea cucumber, a bit of a rare delicacy around these parts. He briefly wondered what on earth she'd packed part of a sea cucumber for and just watched as both of them tried a bit of it on a 3-2-1 count. Tsunade gagged loudly and ran to the trashcan while Orochimaru visibly cringed and shuddered furiously at the taste and texture. To Sarutobi's amazement, he managed to swallow it, but then plunked his head down on the desk with a faint groan as Tsunade came back up the steps, looking slightly green. She sat down beside him again. He looked up at her and all of a sudden, she started snickering. Soon, both kids were struggling to stifle the giggles as Tsunade started talking about how bad that thing had tasted.

Sarutobi mentally congratulated himself for deciding to put him with Tsunade the first day, since it had obviously been a good choice. As he made his way to the main office, he jumped slightly when one of the classroom doors burst open and a familiar mop of spiky white hair dashed out; "I'm sorry, Kimura-_Sensei!_ I didn't know it would explode like that!" Jiraiya yelled as he took off down the hall. Sarutobi stared after him in bewilderment and then turned as Enzo Kimura stumbled out of the classroom, looking just a bit singed. He hissed in annoyance and sighed, noticing Sarutobi approaching, "Lord Hokage," he said respectfully before sighing again, "Sir, I'm sorry, but I cannot tolerate that kid in my class, anymore. He brought firecrackers to school today for the explosives demonstration. _Firecrackers!_ The explosives I brought in were duds! He thought they were real!" he groaned, slapping a hand over his eyes and sagging against the wall. The Hokage chuckled mirthfully and clapped his colleague on the shoulder, "Seems like he's getting a bit out of hand. All right, we'll move him to my classroom and I'll see what I can do about him. How does that sound?"

Kimura smiled in relief, "As long as you're okay with that menace, then I'm fine with it," he said, "Thank you,"

/ooo/

Jiraiya shuffled uncomfortably outside the classroom door, hands behind his back as he stared at the ground. Sarutobi stood a couple of feet away, watching him sternly, "Do you understand now, Jiraiya?" he said, "This is your last chance. I'm going to give you the opportunity to graduate from my class, but you have to shape up, all right?" he said firmly but gently.

"Yeah," Jiraiya muttered solemnly, "I'm sorry, Lord Hokage,"

"There's nothing to be sorry for; what's done is done," the older man answered, patting the boy's head, "Listen, just behave and try to get along with your new classmates. You can save proving the meaning behind your unfortunate nickname for after class, all right, _Village Madness_?" he joked. Jiraiya grinned and shoved his hand away, "You got it," he chuckled.

Sarutobi opened the door and stepped inside with Jiraiya following close behind him. They moved to the center of the room amidst the excited and confused whispers of the other students. Sarutobi silenced them with a hand and cleared his throat, "I know this is a bit unusual," he said, "But a student from another class is moving into ours. I'm sure you're all familiar with Jiraiya, here," he gestured at the boy who waved at the class with a gigantic grin. The Hokage continued, "But remain focused on your studies. The Genin exam is only a week away,"

He placed Jiraiya at one of the empty seats in the bottom row. The spiky-haired kid looked around at all of his classmates, doing a slight double take when he spied Tsunade and waving briefly before turning to face the front.

Tsunade rolled her eyes at this and sighed, shaking her head. Orochimaru glanced at her curiously and she quickly wrote down on a piece of paper; _That's the school nutball. Don't bother worrying about him. He's a showoff_

She slid this across to him as discreetly as she could. Sarutobi hadn't noticed. If he had, he'd have taken the note away.

She did her best to focus on what the Hokage was saying, but at the sound of slight scratching to her left, she glanced briefly over and was amazed to see Orochimaru writing a reply on the paper, while also looking up periodically at Sarutobi to give the impression that he was merely taking notes. He'd stare intently at the front of the class for a moment or two and then return his gaze to the paper, scribble down one character and then repeat the process. Tsunade had to admit; this kid was _good_.

When the Hokage turned his back to write something on the board, Orochimaru slid the paper an inch toward Tsunade, barely making it move at all. Tsunade leisurely reached around for her bag to grab a few sheets of paper and set them on the space in front of her, quickly reaching for the note as she did and sifting it into the notepaper as naturally as possible. She tapped the ends on the desk to 'straighten' them, flipping the actual note on top of the little stack as she did and then straightening them once more before setting them down.

It just went to show that in the academy, it was possible to pass notes in Hiruzen Sarutobi's class, but you had to treat it like a life or death mission if you wanted to get away with it. Tsunade figured that this was how some recent female shinobi had become successful intel officers in recent years.

Through all of this, Orochimaru didn't look in her direction even once. It was almost scary how good he was at this already.

Tsunade adopted his method for reading the note, bowing her head to scribble down a random character on the side of the paper while she read what he'd written. She bit back a choked sound of disbelief at what she was reading; _Is my handwriting legible?_

Tsunade felt her eye twitching, resisting every urge to turn and look at her mute classmate. _What was that_!? She sighed lightly; maybe Orochimaru had a bit of a quirky streak. That was an incredibly random thing to write given the context of what she'd written him. But then again, the fact that he was now answering her questions in writing was definitely something. He still wouldn't talk, but he communicated quite thoroughly. Well, with _her,_ anyway. It was quite a start if nothing else.

She sensed he was looking at her and she nodded faintly in response to his question, throwing him a discreet 'OK' sign with her left hand.

He didn't write anything else for the rest of the class period. Tsunade wasn't sure if he was actually paying attention to the lecture or if he was just lost in thought. His eyes were slightly glazed, so she half-assumed the latter. He'd been in the class for almost a week and his grades were already better than hers. Whether he paid attention or not, it seemed that learning came naturally to him.

Still, she was a bit worried about how he was going to fit in with the rest of the class. Her own friends, once they'd seen his bizarre complexion and facial markings, which appeared to be his actual skin color, immediately ostracized him. It was a bit disconcerting how little he seemed to care, but then again, he still had yet to speak a single word other than the occasional sigh or chuckle. Tsunade counted herself lucky he even did _that_ much.

Finally, it was time for lunch. Sarutobi informed them that he had to speak with Jiraiya's former _sensei_ about the transfer and requested that everyone behave in his absence. Tsunade knew that most of them would, since it wasn't worth risking Sarutobi's anger. But she wasn't sure about Jiraiya. She cast a suspicious glance at him as he sat half-asleep at his desk.

She sighed and shook her head, "How that kid got to be in this academy is beyond me," she mumbled. She looked over at Orochimaru, flipping through the textbook again. He'd actually been rereading it this whole time. She poked him lightly and smiled, "Well, you gonna put the book away for once?" she joked.

"Hm?" he mumbled. That was the most she'd heard of what he possibly sounded like. She jerked her thumb toward the clock on the wall, "It's lunchtime. Do you want to just stay here or maybe eat outside this time?"

He blinked slowly, staring at her for a few long moments. This used to be quite awkward, but after a while, Tsunade found she'd gotten used to it. He wasn't so much staring _at_ her as he was staring _through _her.

He turned and looked out the window, glancing backward at her questioningly. He was actually pretty easy to read. She smiled, "Outside it is," she declared, "Come on! Lets' hurry to grab the best spot!"

She grabbed his arm, dragging him out of the classroom. He followed along behind her, completely used to being pulled around like that by this point. He glanced back only to take a curious look at the new student sitting hunched over at his desk before they left the room.

It was a hot day and most of the students had chosen to eat outside. Tsunade had her box lunch in one hand, still holding Orochimaru's wrist in the other as she scanned the grounds. The tree with the old wooden swing was a favorite. She saw that several of her friends had gathered beneath the shady branches. She hummed and looked back at her companion, "C'mon, lets' see if they've got room for two more," she exclaimed.

She didn't notice him shrink in on himself again, but as usual, not saying a word against her choice. He allowed himself to be led over as the other students looked up curiously. Midori smiled when she saw Tsunade, but that smile warped slightly upon catching sight of Orochimaru. She stood up and visibly swallowed, "H-Hey Tsunade," she called, biting back the obvious nervousness, "Over here!"

Tsunade resisted the urge to sigh in relief. Midori was still clearly afraid of him, but she was trying to work past that. Hopefully the other students would follow suit as maturely.

"Hey guys," Tsunade said, approaching quickly, "How's it going?"

"Good," Midori answered, "Are you going to eat with us?"

"Yeah. Is it all right if we both do?"

She gestured toward Orochimaru, but Midori raised an eyebrow and leaned slightly to the left, peering over her friend's shoulder. Tsunade blinked in confusion before realizing that Orochimaru must have hidden behind her again. She sighed heavily and looked back behind her, almost knocking her forehead into his because he was hiding so close to her. She motioned to Midori to give her a minute before turning fully to face him. Standing this close, she realized that they were very similar in height, though he might have been just a little bit shorter than she was. He wouldn't look up at her, his eyes distant and unfocused. She sighed and put a hand on his head, gently tilting his face up to look at her, "Hey, you gotta stop hiding, you know? They won't warm up to you if you never show yourself,"

He cast his gaze slightly downward again. She could see his mouth moving slightly, almost as if he wanted to reply. She hummed and glanced back at her friends. They were making a noble attempt to hide the fact that they were paying attention to what was happening. She looked back at him, "Well, would you like to go back inside?" she asked.

His gaze moved slowly to the building, but it seemed more of a debating expression than an agreeing one. For the first time, she found she could see him thinking hard from how his eyes hardened. He looked back at her and shook his head.

For a moment, she couldn't believe it. But she smiled and ruffled his hair, "Well good for you! You're less mousy than you were before!" she said proudly. He swatted her hand away with a slightly bitter look on his face, making her laugh. She grabbed his hand and dragged him over to the group, "Okay, we've mulled it over and we're staying out here!" she declared, sitting down beside the tree. Orochimaru took a seat beside her, slightly behind her, but more visible than she was sure he was comfortable with. He was really forcing himself out of his comfort zone today.

Midori looked anywhere but at them at first before smiling nervously, "Well, thanks for joining us you two," she said.

The group made a total of five, with the two other students mutual friends of Tsunade and Midori, Yukari Yamanaka and a girl from another class named Saeko. Yukari flipped a lock of short blond hair out of her face as she peered over at Orochimaru, "Wow, you're kinda weird looking, aren't ya?"

"Knock it off Yukari, he's mousy enough as it is without your so-called compliments," Tsunade grumbled, opening her lunch box. She grinned and looked over at Orochimaru, "We can share again, okay?"

He looked away somewhat uncomfortably and then reached a hand into his pocket. He pulled out a small box and set it on the ground. Everyone peered at it curiously. It was the size of a playing card and wrapped in a piece of string. He immediately grabbed it up again and shoved it in Tsunade's hands, clenching his fists in his lap and looking down at the ground.

Yukari giggled, "Aw, looks like he made ya something, Tsunade," she teased playfully, "Seems like you've got an admirer,"

Tsunade sighed heavily and rolled her eyes, "Knock it off, Yukari," she grumbled, focusing her attention on her silent and by now, heavily embarrassed friend. She smiled, "Should I open it now or later?"

He threw her a quick sidelong glance, but she couldn't see his face too well.

Midori smiled sadly and sighed lightly, "Why don't you open it, Tsunade," she suggested.

She obliged, undoing the string and opening the lid. Her eyes widened a bit as she took a peek inside. She pulled out a tiny, malformed riceball, of which there were four in the box.

"It's so cute!" Saeko exclaimed softly, "It's like half the size of a normal one,"

"Kind of like its creator," Yukari joked. Tsunade scowled, "Midori?" she asked, scowling over at her friend. Midori nodded sternly and jabbed Yukari hard in the side, "That was rude!" she exclaimed, "I'm sure he worked hard on those! On top of that, they're small and oddly shaped, but they're ten times better than anything _you_ can cook, Miss-I-Scorch-Everything-I-Touch!"

"Oh Ha, Ha, Ha! That was so wordy, I forgot to laugh!" Yukari snarled at Midori.

"Cut it out!" Tsunade bellowed, making both of them freeze mid insult and resume their former seated positions. She exhaled sharply in exasperation, peering over at Orochimaru who, by this point, seemed ready to melt down through the ground from sheer embarrassment. She looked back at the little box and popped one of the riceballs in her mouth, giving him a thumbs up, "It's good," she assured him, "So they look a bit funny; they taste fine!"

He looked up slightly, his expression somewhat disbelieving. She handed him the box and motioned for him to take one. He did so, gazing down at it blankly.

"Um...," Saeko muttered, causing him to look over at her hesitantly. She smiled shyly, "Can I try one?"

He was motionless for a moment, as if stunned by the fact that someone else was actually talking to him. But to Tsunade's amazement, he handed her the one he currently held. She took it gratefully and nodded to Tsunade. They both watched as she tried it without any hesitation and smiled in approval, "She's right; they taste fine," she confirmed.

Tsunade nudged him playfully, "See? Told ya so," she teased him.

He blinked a few times and then scowled a bit, nudging her back. Tsunade stammered a bit at this unexpected reaction, watching as he ate one of the riceballs himself. She chuckled and pulled her own lunchbox closer, "Fine, you win this one, Orochimaru," she grumbled in a mock offended voice.

"All joking aside," Yukari stated, playing with her greens in her lunch, "It's funny how you two get along so well, especially since he hasn't said a single word this entire time,"

"He talks—sorta," Tsunade snapped before realizing she was half-right in her observation.

"You kinda act like brother and sister," Midori pointed out, giggling, "It's really cute,"

"Oh!" Saeko exclaimed, "Speaking of which, how is your mother doing?"

"Huh?" Tsunade questioned, swallowing a piece of grilled chicken she'd eaten, "Oh, she's doing fine. We're expecting it to happen within a week or two. I'm so excited!" she squealed, bouncing in her seat.

Orochimaru was chewing on the end of his chopsticks out of boredom. He looked up curiously at Tsunade's outburst. She grinned enthusiastically at him, "My mom's gonna have a baby soon," she explained, "I'm gonna be a big sister!"

His eyes went slightly wide in surprise and then narrowed as he looked away, his expression pensive all of a sudden. Then, he looked up and smiled at her, grinning slightly. She wasn't expecting this reaction, but she quickly returned the gesture, "Thanks!" she exclaimed.

The other three girls could only watch in confused amazement at how well Tsunade could interpret Orochimaru's 'replies' so easily. He never communicated through words and usually only wrote notes or used gestures. So far, only Tsunade and Sarutobi could understand him.

Midori especially continued to watch him, trying to ignore how weird this felt. Something about that kid wasn't normal. She could sense it. She played with one of her braids absently, thinking over the situation. Tsunade was known for her stubborn attitude and the level of difficulty in earning her trust. She didn't open up to just anyone. But she treated this odd newcomer like family and clearly expected others to do the same.

However, she trusted Tsunade's decision. If she found she could trust Orochimaru, then she'd do her best to try to accomplish the same.

/ooo/

Class the rest of the day consisted of a lecture about the importance of teamwork on a mission and how jeopardizing the team could sabotage the entire mission. This was just a refresher course in preparation for the Genin exam. Tsunade was still trying to decide whether or not she was even going to take it. Was she even ready to? And if she took it and passed, she'd be placed in a team, leaving the academy to work in the field. She was okay with this for herself; but she was worried about Orochimaru. Would he be okay on his own?

Class was over now. She glanced over at him, facing away from her as he packed his two new books into a little messenger bag he'd gotten from Sarutobi.

"Tsuna-a-a-ade!"

She jerked back in annoyance at the familiar, grating voice behind her. She gritted her teeth as she resisted the urge to turn around, "What _is_ it, Jiraiya?" she grumbled.

The spiky-haired boy grinned mischievously, waving at her as he came up the steps, "Hey, c'mon, class is over!" he declared, "Why don't we go up to the monument or something? Huh? Why not?"

"No way," she snapped, "You'll try and peek down my shirt when I'm not looking,"

"Aw, I will not! I promise! Please?"

She glowered up at him, hands folded in front of his face as he stared at her pleadingly. She scowled and looked away irritably, "I said no, Jiraiya. I've got to help my mom,"

He sighed heavily, "Agh. Oh fine, I guess if you hafta," he said solemnly, shoving his hands in his pockets. He tilted his head, looking over at Orochimaru, still faced away from them and fastening the clip on the bag with one hand. He smirked, "So, who's your cute friend, Tsunade?" he said with a grin.

Tsunade froze. Orochimaru let out a choked sound at the back of his throat, twitching upward slightly. Her gaze floated from him up to Jiraiya, who looked as clueless as ever at this clearly unexpected response. She blinked rapidly, her face contorting into anger and astonishment, "He's a boy, stupid!" she yelled.

Behind her, Orochimaru turned, his face frozen in an expression of extreme consternation and confusion. He stared up at Jiraiya in disbelief and mild humiliation, shaking slightly. The spiky-haired newcomer stared right back, equally confused, "W-What the—? He...it—you...woah! Jeez, my bad," he muttered, scratching the back of his head, "Wow, awkward,"

"You're such a moron, Jiraiya!"

"Aw come on, I can't help it! His hair makes him look kinda like a girl from behind! It's not my fault!"

"That's no—" Tsunade started to snap, when the sudden scraping of a chair behind her made her turn. Orochimaru had pushed his chair back and shouldered his bag. He had the weirdest expression on his face, one mixed of apathy and contempt combined with a little bit of frustration. He looked back and forth from Tsunade to Jiraiya and then his eyes narrowed slightly, "You look like an old man," he grumbled.

He shoved past them and took off down the stairs, hurrying out and slamming the door behind him. Sarutobi stared after him in amazement from his desk and then looked up to the row where Jiraiya and Tsunade still sat, gazing off into space at what had just happened.

"I don't believe it," Tsunade muttered, "He just talked,"

Jiraiya stammered a bit, his face going red as his anger began to boil, "Why you—_Who says I look like an old man! Ya creep! Say that to my face next time, I dare ya!" _

Sarutobi could only watch as Tsunade struggled to calm the infuriated Jiraiya down and keep him from taking off after Orochimaru. He watched as she lost control and he flew down the steps and slammed the door open, bolting down the hallway with Tsunade close on his heels. He blinked, frozen in place as he contemplated what had just happened.

"Well...," he mumbled, settling back in his chair, "_That_ took an interesting turn,"


	3. 3 Mutual Something or Other

**Mutual Something or Other**

A/N: Sorry the update took longer than usual. My creative flow was off and I had to give it time to come back. Anyway, hope you enjoy the next chapter. This story is kind of writing itself at this point.

Tsunade sighed heavily as she stood in the middle of the room, arms folded and occasionally glancing either at the furious pounding at the door, or Orochimaru just barely out of sight crouched around the corner of his small apartment.

_"Open this door you weirdo! I know you can hear me!" _

Jiraiya pounded on the door, still fuming about what Orochimaru had said to him at school. To Tsunade's amazement, he'd easily outrun Jiraiya back to his apartment, slamming and locking the door behind him. Following Jiraiya, she'd been unable to suppress a sigh at the fact that Orochimaru had seemingly become quite used to his new living space if he felt safe enough to hide in it.

She'd decided to take the initiative and climbed up the old crumbling bricks alongside the wall to the window of his apartment, knocking on the glass. Standing off to the side, listening to Jiraiya fuming on the other side of the door, Orochimaru had noticed her quickly and hurried over to open the window and let her in. She scrambled inside, watching as he'd shut the window and returned to sitting against the wall of the hallway leading to the other room. She struggled to resist the urge to ask him about what had happened at the academy. She was finding it hard to believe herself that he'd actually spoken for the first time since his arrival. Of course, what he'd said exactly was entirely different context, but the fact was that he'd said an actual sentence. So his shock invaded his mind enough to make him selectively mute. That was understandable. She crossed the room and pulled her fist back, slamming it against the door with enough force to rattle the hinges. _That_ shut Jiraiya up as she finally unlocked the bolt and opened the door, hand on her hip and glowering out at him.

Clearly expecting Orochimaru, Jiraiya stumbled back in shock when he registered that Tsunade was standing there glaring at him.

"What do you want, Jiraiya?" she snapped. Regaining some of his composure, he scowled and gritted his teeth, "I wanna speak to that creep! Where is he?"

"Minding his own business, like you should be doing!" Tsunade yelled, "You were the one antagonizing him and—"

She froze when she felt that familiar sensation of someone coming up behind her. Whirling, she blinked in amazement when she saw Orochimaru approach the door, standing beside her and and looking out at Jiraiya with an eerily blank expression on his face.

Clearly not expecting this, Jiraiya hesitated a moment before stuttering, "W-What the heck was that for at school, huh?"

For a minute or two, he received no answer. Orochimaru lowered his head slightly, his bangs covering his eyes, rendering his expression unreadable. Tsunade peered over at him curiously, "Orochimaru?"

To her surprise, he stepped back with a sidelong glance at Jiraiya, watching both him and Tsunade expectantly. The spiky haired oddball was obviously lost, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Idiot, he's inviting you in," Tsunade grumbled, "Don't expect it to happen too often; he's still nervous around Lord Hokage,"

Wary, but too curious and hyped up to back down, Jiraiya hesitantly stepped into the small apartment. He kept a suspicious eye on Orochimaru the whole time, even as he casually pushed the door shut and moved further into the room toward the small kitchen area. Tsunade followed him quietly, leaving Jiraiya at the entryway, "Don't forget your shoes, idiot," she called. While Jiraiya fumbled with his sandals, grumbling under his breath, she watched as Orochimaru moved around the tiny kitchen, searching through various cabinets, emerging once with an old copper kettle and a box of tea packets. Tsunade quirked an eyebrow at this. Wards of the village received their allowance roughly once a week. She assumed that he'd probably gotten his in advance in order to purchase food. He must have bought that stuff sometime beforehand.

"You know what you're doing?" she asked, leaning on the counter. Her only reply was a blank, sidelong stare right through her, as usual. He returned his gaze to the sink as the kettle was filled, shutting off the water. He lifted it somewhat clumsily onto the stove and bent his neck slightly to check the flame as he turned it on. He seemed much more self-reliant than Tsunade had figured.

Jiraiya finally joined them, standing beside Tsunade as he watched Orochimaru watching the kettle. No one moved for the duration of the surprisingly long time it took the water to boil. Once it finally did, proving that a watched pot will in fact boil, he turned the stove off and lifted the kettle onto a cool burner, searching around for cups.

"I think I saw some in that cabinet," Tsunade remarked, pointing to the one above her friend's head. He paused, blinked once and then looked up, as if processing what she'd said to him. This confused her more than anything. By this point in time, it was clear that this kid was highly intelligent, easily outstripping her in class within just a few days. She was finding that it served to fuel her competitive nature as she struggled to catch up with him, matching him, but just barely. However, with simple, everyday mundane tasks, he seemed oddly slow. He clearly knew what he was doing, but it was almost as if he had to remind his brain that he was performing other tasks and it had to catch up with what his body was doing. It was really weird.

He fetched down three chipped cups from the cabinet, rinsing them off in the sink before pouring the scalding water into each one. He cautiously slid a cup to each of them and pushed the box of tea packets to the center of the counter. He then pushed the last cup to the empty spot at the counter and went around to the other side to take a seat, staring at his own cup with a slightly glazed expression. Tsunade opened the box and pulled out a tea packet, dropping it into her cup and waiting. She threw Jiraiya a meaningful sidelong glare, hinting he'd better take one if he knew what was good for him. Fortunately, the spiky-haired kid seemed to catch on, hurriedly taking one and putting it in the water, watching as the tea dissolved. Orochimaru was the last to fix his own tea, but still didn't seem to acknowledge them. Tsunade cleared her throat and faced him, "So, this was nice of you," she said, trying to drown the awkwardness of the air at the moment. He didn't say anything, but tried to sip his own tea, visibly jolted as he burned himself and set the cup down with a light sigh. Tsunade blinked in amazement at this and let her head droop in bewilderment. How was it that this kid received top marks in school and yet didn't know to let boiling water cool a bit before drinking it?!

She turned her gaze to Jiraiya, staring hard at the cup of water in front of him. She groaned in dismay, "Moron, you watched him prepare it. It's fine to drink,"

Jiraiya stared at her skeptically a moment before picking the cup up and tipping his head back, downing the whole thing in one go. Tsunade jumped at this, especially when Jiraiya leaped to his feet and started screaming that it was hot. Orochimaru and Tsunade both watched him race about the room, yelling that his tongue was on fire. Tsunade sighed and gently sipped her own tea, now cooled enough to drink, "I'm surrounded by idiots," she grumbled.

Orochimaru tilted his head at her statement in confusion before getting up and grabbing Jiraiya's cup off the floor, moving to the sink and rinsing it out before filling it with cold water and putting it back on the counter. Jiraiya paused in his pained raving to look over at him curiously, while Tsunade just watched him, confused. He went back to his seat beside her, pulling his cup back closer to him. She hummed, "Hey, what's with the 'polite host' bit, now? Why are you doing all this?"

Jiraiya scoffed as he sat back down at the counter, grinning sardonically, "Like a creep like him is gonna know any real manners, Tsunade,"

He yelped when Tsunade punched him on the shoulder, "You're the creep here, Jiraiya," she snapped, "Wise up for once!"

"...umm...,"

Both of them whirled as Orochimaru started mumbling slightly, not meeting their gaze as he swirled the tea around in his cup. His head lowered even further, his bangs further hiding his eyes, "...I...watched mom...doing this..."

Tsunade's eyes widened, both at his statement and the fact that he'd spoken again. She fell silent, but Jiraiya, obviously unaware of the volume of that sentence, sighed heavily, "Yeah, whatever, creep," he growled.

Tsunade was about to scold him for his rudeness, but when she felt her neck prickle suddenly, she ducked instinctively as something went flying over her head, smacking Jiraiya on the side of his and sending him sprawling on the floor. She jumped up in alarm, "Jiraiya!" she cried, whirling, "Orochimaru? What the heck are you doing?!"

He was standing up, shaking slightly, his cup now missing from the counter. His face seemed confused and angry both at once. Tsunade shook her head in bewilderment and turned back around, hurrying over to check on Jiraiya, knocked senseless. The offending cup lay a couple of feet away, the carpet now soaked from the tea. She sighed heavily and sat back slightly, "Dang it, he's out cold," she grumbled under her breath. She glared at Orochimaru, "I know he's annoying, but that was horrible!" she yelled, "Don't do that ever again!"

He shuddered slightly and looked away, irritation evident on his face as he sighed heavily. He moved past her and into the next room. She heard a door open and shut again, listening to him as he moved almost silently through the apartment. She heard a faucet running close by and shutting off again before he reappeared around the corner with a damp cloth in his hands. He knelt down and placed the cloth gently on Jiraiya's head where he'd struck him.

Surprised and a bit moved by this sudden gesture, Tsunade found herself regretting shouting at him, but said nothing. She just watched as he sat down a few feet away, folding his knees up and resting his chin on them, watching his unconscious classmate.

Gradually, Jiraiya began to stir, mumbling in his sleep as he opened his eyes blearily. Blinking, he struggled to sit up, clutching his head painfully, "Ow...what hit me?" he muttered. He looked around, remembering where he was and—what happened. His face darkened in fury and he charged toward Orochimaru, who instantly leaped up and stepped back, moving toward the wall warily. Tsunade yelled for them to stop as Jiraiya pulled his fist back and drove it forward with surprising force. Orochimaru ducked sideways, but couldn't avoid the hit altogether, resulting in a hard blow to the chest, knocking him into the wall where he sagged to the floor, gasping for air. Jiraiya was about to go after him again before Tsunade jumped between them, blocking his way, "Stop it! Knock it off!" she screamed. However, a blur to her left alerted her of Orochimaru's presence as he leaped toward Jiraiya, bashing him backwards and crouching defensively. Tsunade watched in alarm, noticing instantly that while crude, his fighting style was already surprisingly direct. Orochimaru braced as Jiraiya jumped back up and crashed into him, sending another blow aimed toward his head. Orochimaru brought his arm up to block the hit, and threw a counter blow to Jiraiya's stomach, driving him backward and choking harshly from the hit. The quicker boy charged toward his stunned classmate, reaching toward his neck. The spiky-haired kid hit the ground and quickly scrambled out of the way, using the momentum to grab his opponent and slam him against the floor a few feet away. Stunned slightly, Orochimaru didn't move for a few seconds while Jiraiya turned, preparing to strike him again. His fist struck empty floor as Orochimaru vanished, reappearing behind Jiraiya and grabbing his neck in a firm strangle hold. Unable to breathe, only gasp and struggle for air, Jiraiya brought his fist back, bashing his opponent's head again and again, trying to force him to let go. Even as his face began to go gray from lack of oxygen, Orochimaru continued to hold out, though clearly weakening as blow after blow struck his skull.

Tsunade, so far only able to watch in horror, finally gathered her senses at this crucial moment, rushing forward and clenching her fist tightly, "_Knock! It! OFF!_" she shrieked, bashing both of them on their heads and knocking them down. Both boys landed on either side of her, Jiraiya coughing and sputtering as his lungs heaved for air while Orochimaru's eyes were squeezed shut from the splitting pain in his head.

"Are you too complete _idiots_!?" Tsunade yelled, looking back and forth at both of them, "You're gonna get him evicted from this place if you keep that up!" she gestured toward Orochimaru as she scolded both of them, "And if _Sensei_ finds out about this, you'll both get suspended from school or worse! We're _allies_ you morons!"

Her shoulders sagged as she caught her breath, her fury finally beginning to subside. Both boys were now sitting up, staring at the floor sullenly. She huffed and grabbed their collars, dragging them both up against the wall and giving them each a sound flick on the foreheads, "Stay put!" she snapped, heading over to the sink, "Orochimaru, tell me where the washcloths are _now!_"

He jolted sharply with a short gasp, pointing quickly to a drawer beside the stove. While Tsunade bustled around angrily in the kitchen, preparing cold compresses for their various bruises, Jiraiya and Orochimaru both watched her from their peripheral vision, occasionally glancing at one another warily. They didn't need to communicate to mutually understand that pissing Tsunade off was definitely a _bad_ idea.

"Orochimaru! Where are the medical supplies? I know you have some so where are they!? Tell me _Now!_"

He jumped again and quickly gestured to the hall closet. She stormed over and threw the door open, pulling down a first aid kit and slamming the door shut once she'd found it. She stomped over and sat down in front of them, "Heads up!" she commanded. They did as they were told, facing her directly without a word. She grumbled angrily under her breath as she dabbed some antibacterial ointment on the small cut where the teacup had struck Jiraiya, roughly slapping a bandage over it and shoving a compress in his hands, "Put that on your neck," she said sharply before turning to Orochimaru. He was watching her somewhat hesitantly and Tsunade had to force back the urge to apologize, treating him with the same justified irritation as Jiraiya. There was a small cut on the side of his face where he'd hit the ground when Jiraiya threw him. She applied the same ointment to it, noting that the whole time, he didn't so much as flinch when she knew it had to sting sharply. She fixed a bandage to it and hurled the compress into his face, "_You_ started that fight, Orochimaru," she growled, getting to her feet, "And once you two have finished cooling down, _you_ can be the first to apologize,"

She stormed over to the sink to wash the cups. Jiraiya and Orochimaru just watched her blankly. She continued to bang around angrily as she put things away, still grumbling to herself as she did. Finally, she whirled, "I'm going to go and reassure the neighbors that nothing's wrong. If you guys start fighting again while I'm gone, I'll throw you both in the river,"

She headed to the door, threw it open and slammed it shut. They listened to her footsteps disappearing, the room falling silent. Jiraiya shuffled uncomfortably and cast a sidelong glare at Orochimaru, sitting slightly hunched over and facing forward. The silence in the room was near deafening. Jiraiya couldn't really focus on much else other than how his face kind of stung. He reached up to rub the side of his face with a frustrated groan, "Dang it, that hurts," he grumbled, "He-ey, why'd ya throw a cup at me anyway? What the heck did I say, huh?" he growled, turning to face Orochimaru.

The silent kid just blinked a couple of times and then shrugged. Jiraiya scowled and jabbed his shoulder, "I already know you can talk, kid," he said, "Why'd you throw a cup at me, ya creep?"

Orochimaru sighed and leaned his head back against the wall with a slight _thunk, _"...I...have a name, you know...," he mumbled, his tone irritated as he glared at Jiraiya.

"Well then this whole thing was _easily avoidable!_" Jiraiya yelled. He sat back with a huff, "Okay, so what is it then?"

"Huh?"

"Your name, stupid,"

The dark haired kid's eyes narrowed to slits as he scowled at Jiraiya, "...My name is Orochimaru,"

Jiraiya's eyes widened, his expression contorting to disbelief, "What the heck kinda name is that? That's...," he counted on his fingers, "Jeez, that's five syllables! What kinda kid's got five syllables in his name!?"

"...I do...,"

Jiraiya sighed, "Fine, whatever. I'm Jiraiya. I _guess_ it's nice to meet ya, Orichomaru,"

The spiky haired kid yelled when Orochimaru suddenly punched him on the shoulder, his eyes wild, "Get it right!" he snapped.

"What!? What'd I do? I said your name! Whaddaya want from me!?"

"Say it right!" Orochimaru growled.

"I _did!_"

" No you didn't!"

"I did so!"

"Did not!"

"All right, then tell me again," Jiraiya snapped, turning fully to face him.

"My name is Orochimaru," he said again, "Get it right,"

Jiraiya scrunched his face, struggling to force his tongue to agree with what his ears were hearing, "O...Oro...Orochomaru," he said, grinning.

"Wrong again," his increasingly aggravated classmate snarled.

"Your name's impossible! To heck with that, I'm calling you Chi,"

Orochimaru bristled visibly, "No you're not! That's a girl's name!"

"So? I'd say it fits..._Chi_,"

/ooo/

Tsunade sighed as she finished at the last apartment closest to the stairs. The tenants within had definitely heard the racket and wondered what was going on, but were visibly relieved when she explained that her two friends were just having an argument. For a moment, she thought she'd managed to handle things maturely and that perhaps, she could return to the apartment and hopefully end the day on a good note.

However, when a tremendous _thud_ reverberated through the walls, followed by enraged yelling, both she and the elderly tenant knew that peace had just flown further from their grasp. Tsunade chuckled nervously and apologized hastily before departing, heading toward the door. She really should've known better. She told herself this as she faced the door where she could hear yet another scuffle breaking out. She wondered what Sarutobi would think of this. In four days, she'd been able to bring Orochimaru far enough out of the shell to participate in activities and even communicate, albeit wordlessly. However, in the span of two hours, The Village Madness Jiraiya had not only gotten him to utter a complete sentence, but had also provoked him enough to start two fights with him. If anything, Tsunade now knew that Orochimaru was going to make one heck of a shinobi. However, for now, she needed to go inside and break up the fight before he got himself evicted.

"Nice start to your new life here, you idiot," she grumbled as she opened the door and rolled her sleeves up.


End file.
